Hitting %

Blocks

Digs

Aces

The short story: VCU women's volleyball took a thrilling five-set match over Dayton to win its first Atlantic 10 Championship, and its first conference title since 2005, at the A.J. Palumbo Center on Sunday afternoon.

OPENING VOLLEY

Sophomore Vicky Giommarini recorded a double-double of 16 kills and 15 digs on her way to being named Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament.

In a tight first set, Dayton rallied from a five-point defecit to tie the match at 23-23. Sneed and Tuzzolo delivered a massive block, followed by a service ace from Tuzzolo to win the set.

VCU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third set, powered by kills from Giommarini and Tuzzolo. The Rams extended the advantage to 13-3 with help from a pair of powerful kills from Kandler. Baldwin would finish off the set with a sharp spike at the net.

Neither team led the deciding fifth set by more than two points. VCU took a timeout with Dayton leading 13-12, then scored the final three points of the match. After a Flyers ball handling error, Sneed turned in an emphatic solo block before Kandler delivered the championship-clinching kill.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

In a back-and-forth match that saw 10 lead changes and 29 tied scores, both teams hit .207 for the contest.

While VCU hit .207 for the match, it hit .378 and .326 in the first and third sets, respectively.

The Rams' defense limited A-10 Player of the Year Amber Erhahon to just a .115 hitting percentage.

NEXT UP

The Rams will learn their next opponent during the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships selection show on Sunday, Nov. 26. The selection show will be aired on ESPNU at 9 p.m.